As MPs gain, tax changes hit many

AUSTRALIANS will pay more for streaming services such as Netflix as well as for songs and movies downloaded from the internet when a range of new taxes kick in at the end of the week.

GST will be applied to digital downloads bought in Australia from overseas companies in what has been dubbed the “Netflix tax”.

Sunday will also be the final one when hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers in the retail, fast food and hospitality sectors receive their current penalty rates, which will gradually be reduced from next weekend.

Labor employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor said there could not be a worse time to cut penalty rates for up to 700,000 Australian workers because wages were already declining in real terms.

But supporters of the penalty rate cut argue most workers will not notice the slight reduction because it will coincide with a boost to the national minimum wage.

From next weekend, two million Australians on the minimum wage will receive a 3.3% pay rise, giving workers $22.20 extra a week, or $1154 more a year.

But Federal MPs will be at least $4000 better off each year when a 2% pay rise starts from July. The pollies’ pay increase also coincides with a tax cut, after Parliament voted to remove a 2% levy that hit Australians earning more than $180,000.

Also in the new financial year the company tax rate will drop from 30% to 27.5% for businesses with up to $25 million in annual turnover. But large banks and multinational companies including Apple, BHP Billiton and Chevron will be forced to contribute more to government coffers.

The Diverted Profits Tax, or “Google tax”, will force companies with global revenue of more than $1 billion to pay a 40% tax on all profits.

The government will also raise $6.2 billion in revenue over the next four years by imposing a 0.06% tax on Westpac, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Macquarie.

First home buyers saving for a deposit will be able to make pre-tax contributions to their superannuation accounts from next week with the launch of the government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme.

Under the plan, renters can ask their employers to direct up to $30,000 of their pre-tax salary into their super accounts, which can then be withdrawn to buy a property.

In an effort to free up housing stock, the Federal Government will also tax foreign owners who leave properties unoccupied.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the Coalition had passed 17 separate pieces of legislation in six weeks to implement its Budget.